After considerable research, what we found is that our food is filled with poisons, and that eating, although necessary to stay alive, is really killing us....slowly. We're all in trouble if we do not change the way food is produced, and although plenty of research is out there showing how detrimental additive-toxins are, many are still permitted in our food without proper regulation or adequate warning. Below are some mind grapes for you to snack on, organic of course....

The report presents compelling evidence that organic foods are much less likely to have any toxic residues and that when organic foods do have residues they have fewer, with the levels of residues generally lower. Seventy-three percent of conventionally grown foods had residue from at least one pesticide and were 6-times as likely as organic foods to contain multiple pesticide residues. Only 23% of the organic samples of the same food groups had any pesticide residues. Also, to counter a popular misconception, washing the surface of these foods does not eliminate pesticide residues, as the poison remnants are within the tissue of the organism.

The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants entered into force on May 17, 2004 with ratification by an initial 128 parties and 151 signatories. Co-signatories agree to outlaw nine of the dirty dozen chemicals, limit the use of DDT to malaria control, and limit inadvertent production of dioxins and furans. Parties to the convention agreed to a process by which persistent toxic compounds can be reviewed and added to the convention, if they meet certain criteria for persistence and trans-boundary threat. The first set of new chemicals to be added to the Convention were agreed at a conference in Geneva in 2009. As of 2010, there are 172 parties to the Convention. The United States IS NOT a signatory, nor a party to the Convention.

II. Hormones

When analyzing the topic of hormones in our food, it is necessary that we take the discussion on a food-by-food basis, so let's begin with the consumption of beef (make note, hormones are also permitted in lamb), and then we shall consider dairy. The U.S. Department of Agriculture does not permit the use of hormones in raising pigs or chickens, turkeys and other fowl, or eggs (we'll discuss those food products in the Antibiotics section below). As stated above, in addition to the hormones discussed in this section, there is a strong likelihood that POPs are present in most, if not all meat due to the consumption of POP contaminated feed (or water) by animals.

Hormones are also frequently injected into dairy cows. Industrial farms use a variety of methods for increasing milk production in dairy cows, including breeding selectively, feeding them grain-based diets (instead of grass), keeping cows pregnant, and exposing cows to longer periods of artificial light. Yet, one of the most common and controversial ways to force greater milk production is to inject the female cow with rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone), a genetically engineered artificial growth hormone. Developed and manufactured under the brand names Posalic by Monsanto Company (also the first producer of lethal DDT, a leader in the genetically modified food field, and all-around evil corporation), rBGH has been controversial since its inception.

The guidelines, which state that there is a clear risk to human health if antibiotics continue to be used as they are with livestock, are merely recommendations, but are at least a first step toward limiting the use of antibiotics in America’s food industry. The medical community says that the FDA recommendations don't go far enough, as the guidelines are weak and voluntary, and believe that after decades of studies showing the detrimental effects of antibiotic use, the FDA should issue mandatory regulations.

IV. Genetically Modified Foods

"High-tech tomatoes. Mysterious milk. Supersquash. Are we supposed to eat this stuff? Or is it going to eat us?" ~Anita Manning

The reality is that, in the aggregate, the rampant production of GMO's could have unknown detrimental effects on our environment, as well as the evolution of plants, animals, and human beings. It is necessary to analyze the long term potential effects of GMOs instead of approving their consumption and production on the basis of ignorant and short sighted "standards" of examination and review.

This bill does nothing to change the actual practices of factory farming. It does give the FDA draconian powers to force inspections to be paid for by the farmers themselves. This can be an effective tool for the large multinational agricultural corporations to further squeeze out their competition and gain near complete control of food manufacturing in America. Furthermore, S.510 essentially hands much of the FDA's duties over to the liberty-smashing Department of Homeland Security, which is mentioned 41 times in the bill.

All 273 pages of the bill contain legalese that can be difficult to decode, but one of the easiest ways to determine if it is good for average Americans is to see who supports the bill versus who opposes the bill. Monsanto and other agri-monopolies supported the bill with full force. Indeed, some speculate that they even wrote the bill themselves.

VI.Eating Organic

If you haven’t gotten the point yet, it is advised that you choose organic food whenever possible, as some of the 'healthiest foods', i.e., the foods highest in essential nutrients, are the same foods that are artificially, chemically, and synthetically produced.

The term 'organic food' has two meanings: a popular meaning and a legal meaning. First, the popular meaning of 'organic' refers to all foods that are produced naturally, without the use of pesticides, chemical additives, hormones, antibiotics, etc. According to the legal definition, organic food is food from plants and animals that is produced without the use of synthetic fertilizers, artificial pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, growth hormones, feed additives or genetically modified organisms. There is not much difference, except that, with this legal implication, organic foods must be certified organic according to legal specifications by a certified certifying body, a very expensive process.

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